Caucasian Imamate

The Caucasian Imamate was an Islamic theocracy which existed in the North Caucasian countries of Dagestan and Chechnya from 1829 to 1859. The state was established by the Sufi imam Ghazi Muhammad, who believed that the Avar Khanate's mixture of Islamic laws and local customs had to be replaced by pure sharia law in order for the North Caucasians to wage holy war against the khanate's ally, the Russian Empire, which intruded into Caucasian affairs. In 1829, Muhammad called from holy war from his base of Gimry in Dagestan, leading to a jihad against the Russians. The Imamate's supporters waged successful guerrilla warfare for 30 years, with Ghazi Muhammad, Gamzat-bek, and - most famously - Imam Shamil fighting off the European-style Russian army with local hit-and-run tactics. The Imamate was supported by several Muslim tribes, and the imamate eventually amalgamated with Chechnya, parts of Ingushetia, and the rest of Dagestan under Imam Shamil. In 1859, after a strong Russian counterattack, Imam Shamil accepted Czar Alexander II of Russia's offer of a peaceful surrender, and Russia conquered the Caucasus.